Saudi launches ‘smart Hajj’ initiative
Saudi Arabia launches a ‘smart Hajj’ initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care. Asefny, for example, is an app to help pilgrims request emergency medical attention
MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia has launched a “smart Hajj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care.
Asefny, for example, is an app launched by Saudi Arabia’s Red Crescent to help pilgrims request emergency medical attention.
Authorities are able to locate those in need through the app.
The Saudi Hajj ministry also runs the Manasikana app, which provides translation for pilgrims who do not speak Arabic or English.
By Thursday, more than 1.6 million people had already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, which runs from Sunday to Friday.
One of the five pillars of the world’s fastest-growing religion, the Hajj is expected to draw two million people from around the globe this year.
Thousands could be seen arriving in Makkah, with groups from different countries wearing distinct colours to set them apart.
MAKKAH: Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the Hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam’s holiest sites.
This year the Hajj comes with the kingdom witnessing an unprecedented pace of change, inally ending a ban on women driving while remaining irm in the face of any dissent.
One of the ive pillars of the world’s fastest-growing religion, the Hajj is expected to draw two million people from around the globe this year.
By Thursday, more than 1.6 million people had already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, which runs from Sunday to Friday.
Thousands could be seen arriving in Makkah, with groups from different countries wearing distinct colours to set them apart.
Some pilgrims pushed their elderly relatives on wheelchairs while others stopped to call family members back home on video chat or buy ice cream as temperatures soared above 40 °C.
For many, it is their irst time away from home.
Every Muslim is required to complete the Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to do so.
Many were visibly moved to be so close to Islam’s holiest site — the Kaaba, a black masonry cube in the centre of Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
“I feel as light as a feather,” said Senegalese Fame Diouf, who travelled from Amsterdam. Laughing, she re- counted the story of how she couldn’t stop crying near the Kaaba.
“This was my dream from childhood,” said Raja Amjad Hussein, who made the trip to Makkah from Pakistan.
“I can’t explain. I have no words,” the 40-year-old told AFP.
“For many Muslims this is the big, the biggest, dream of life, to see Kaaba and pray for yourself and the whole Muslim nation.”
No matter their race or nationality, for every pilgrim Hajj begins with “ihram,” the donning of an all-white outit.
For men, this is a seamless tunic worn over baggy pants; for women, a loose dress with only the face and hands exposed.
Pilgrims then perform rituals around the Kaaba and on the Mount Arafat plain east of Makkah.
The Hajj ends with Eid Al Adha, a three-day feast which starts with the “stoning of the devil.”
Eid Al Adha also includes the slaughter of sheep, with the meat distributed to Muslims in need. The ritual symbolises Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismael (PBUH), on the order of God.
The Hajj presents the Saudi authorities with major logistical challenges.
The Pew Research Centre says the number of Muslims in the world is expected to rise from 1.8 billion in 2015 to three billion in 2060.
This year, the Saudis have launched a “smart Hajj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care.
Asefny, for example, is an app launched by Saudi Arabia’s Red Crescent to help pilgrims request emergency medical attention.
Authorities are able to locate those in need through the app.
The Saudi Hajj ministry also runs the Manasikana app, which provides translation for pilgrims who do not speak Arabic or English.
Qatari pilgrims are still permitted into Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
Iranian pilgrims are also in attendance this year. Tehran had temporarily suspended sending its citizens to Hajj following a 2015 stampede that left around 2,300 pilgrims dead, including hundreds of Iranians.